The Price We Pay
by theonlyxception
Summary: The team had been aware of the price for keeping the world safe; the risks that followed them around as they went up against those who would rather use their powers for evil instead of good. They could deal with those minor, non-threatening injuries, but the possibility of death was something they could never prepare enough for.
1. The Price We Pay

I've been hanging onto this story for nearly three years now and finally got around to editing. Like usual, I plan for this to be a long winded story. Thank you new episodes of Agents of Shield that have to do with Skye, you have brought new plot bunnies to my mind. I plan for this story to take place from 1x13 "Tracks" to where the current episodes are in Season 4. A long way to go, I know, but please join me for me the journey.

* * *

The team had been aware of the price for keeping the world safe; the risks that followed them around as they went up against those who would rather use their powers for evil instead of good. They could deal with those minor, non-threatening injuries, but the possibility of death was something they could never prepare enough for. In fact, they refused to give up on those who meant the world to them.

Skye was one of those people they just couldn't give up on. Since finding her bleeding in the basement of Ian Quinn's compound, the team immediately went on a mission to save her life as she teetered on the edge of death. They refused to believe she wouldn't make it out alive after taking her to the Shield facility in Switzerland, so they sought out the same drug that had saved Coulson when he had been fatally injured. Despite all their efforts, she remained in a coma-state, which meant they took turns sitting by her bedside as they waited to see if the drug had saved her too.

"Have you been here all night?" Jemma inquired to Fitz who had a book resting in his lap, leaning towards the bed as if he had just shared a secret with a comatose Skye.

"It doesn't seem fair we're going on missions and she's still lying here, surrounded by wires and tubes."

"It's not fair, but you know as well as I do that we have to give the drug time to work. Just like Coulson, Skye's body has gone through extensive damage and cannot even begin to heal without proper rest."

"Sometimes I find myself going through scenarios in my head, like what if I had gone after her."

"You can't keep blaming yourself. Whether you went in there or not, you might be sitting in a hospital bed right now next to her."

"Don't you think I don't know that Jemma?" Fitz turned abruptly in the chair he was sitting in. "I should have been there to protect her, and she should never have been alone in the first place!"

"You're right, she shouldn't have." Gemma's voice held a lot of regret as she touched his shoulder, not willing to talk about this any further."Why don't you get a cup of coffee? I'll take it from here." He looked reluctant to leave for several seconds before standing up and walking out of the room. "Let's check how your wounds are healing, shall we?" Working swiftly, she filled her in on everything she was doing. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that she didn't notice Coulson standing at the door.

"How is she?"

"Still the same since you last asked that question." Jemma finished packing the wound, then looked up at Coulson. "Sorry, it's kind of been a long morning."

"It's been a long couple days for all of us. The question is when is the last time you got a good night's sleep?"

"I've got sleep." Jemma assured him, turning back to listen to Skye's heart and lungs. "Who I'm worried is about Skye who is in critical condition and Fitz who I found sitting in the cube with her all night."

"He's probably still blaming himself for what happened to Skye." Coulson stated softly, his eyes meeting hers. "We all do in some way. Keep me updated." Jemma nodded as he walked out of the room.

"Please be okay." She brushed the dark locks of hair away from Skye's pale face. "I can't lose any more friends. I will do everything to keep you keep you safe for now on, I promise. Just make it out of this, please."


	2. True Miracle

It felt like a true miracle when her Skye finally opened her eyes. Her movements were slow and painful after the tube had been extubated, and she could only weakly rub at her throat.

"You going to fill me in on what happened or am I going to have to guess?"

"Small sips." Jemma advised her as she handed her a cup of water, to which Skye took into hand. "You were critically injured after being shot. On a scale from one to ten, how's your pain?"

"I see we're getting right down to business." Skye picked at the covers around her. "Five. All I know this getting hurt thing sucks big time."

"The good thing is you're alive." Jemma reassured her. "Let's just focus on that for a little while." Skye nodded, settling back against the pillow. Despite the wheels spinning in her head, she closed her eyes and stilled under the weight of her tiredness. When she woke, Jemma was gone. She was disoriented on just how much time had passed. Not that being inside a cube inside a plane gave her much to look at anyway.

The longer she laid there, the more curious Skye became as she stared up at the ceiling, the more questions she had, like how long would she be stuck here? What all happened when she was shot? Everything was kind of fuzzy right now.

"I have to get out of here."

She had barely thrown the covers back over legs, When Ward walked into the cube. "Thinking about escaping?" He read her thoughts with a tight smile as he sat down on the chair beside her bed, efficiently blocking her from getting off the bed.

"If memory serves right, you got shot and were trying to hide it." Skye's words were strained as she laid back down in bed.

"So you're telling me you would have tried to hide this if you could?" Ward pointed to her bandaged stomach as she slipped back under the covers.

"Not really my style." Skye wrinkled her nose as she picked at the covers again. "Okay, it is kind of my style, but I wouldn't try to hide this. Not really sure I could pull that off. You have secrets, don't you?"

"Of course. We all have our secrets."

"Some not by choice."

"Something like that." Ward slapped his knee as he stood up from his chair. "I should probably be getting back."

"Hey, Ward? Any chance you'll bring my computer back with you the next time you come visit?"

"Dying of boredom already? You just woke up."

"If only you knew."

"I know that it sucks when you're not able to go out there and do what you love, or in this instance, have the things that you want. You know what I learned?"

"I have a feeling you're going to tell me."

"Rest now. If you don't recover fully, that means the higher up won't clear you."

"Coulson?"

"Coulson may be in charge, but Simmons has to clear you first."

"Great." Skye exhaled deeply. "That higher up-got it. What time is it anyway? I can't seem to find a clock in this place." To prove her point, she held up her bare arm, then put it back down by her side.

"It's almost six in the evening."

"Six in the evening? How long have I been sleeping?"

"There will be plenty of time for questions later, trust me. Right now you need to rest."

"Well that's easier said than done." She watched with longing as he walked to the door, then sunk down into her pillow with a sigh. When he was gone, she stared up at the ceiling until she felt her eyelids grow heavy. When she awoke again, Jemma was standing beside her bed, two fingers pressing against her wrist.

"Good, you're awake." Jemma gently smiled at her as she let go of her wrist and scribbled something down on her chart.

"What I wouldn't give to be standing right about now."

"You will soon enough." Jemma reassured her, then went back to assessing her vitals as she laid there in bed.

"Can I at least use the restroom?"

"You have a catheter that we put in after you were shot. I want it to stay in until you're able to stand on your own and can walk to the bathroom yourself."

"I assure you I am fully capable of walking on my own-"

"On a scale from one to ten, how is your pain?"

"Still a five." Skye shrugged, looking a little bored of how this conversation was going. "Not any better, but not an worse either since I just woke up from being shot."

"Somehow, I don't believe that." Jenna looked unconvinced as she rifled through the medical drawer next to her, pulling out a needle and syringe and prepped Skye's arm for taking blood.

"It's all blurry."

"What's blurry?" Jemma inquired with slight alarm in the tone of her voice as she pulled out the needle from Skye's vein.

"Forget it." Skye muttered, shutting her eyes as Jemma quickly injected more medicine into her IV. "I'm just talking to myself again."

"How is she?" Coulson prompted just as Jemma walked down the hall with the vial of blood in hand.

"Her vitals are stable, but she's lying about how much pain she's in."

"Sounds like Skye. I was actually just on my way to see her." Coulson pointed back to the direction she had just come from.

"I just gave her some pain medication, so she'll probably be out for awhile. In the meantime, Fitz and I are working on analyzing any way this drug may affect her in the future."

"That's probably for the best. I'll go visit her later. Get something to eat and get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."


	3. Unruly and Stubborn

When Skye awoke the next morning, she blinked a few times before deciding to peel herself from the bed. She threw the back the blanket, slowly pushed her feet over the edge and was just about to touch her feet to the ground, when an angry knock on the paused her efforts.

"No! What did I say?" Jemma's muffled reply came from behind the window.

"It's like you have a sensor." Skye complained, which only earned herself another glare as Jemma riffled through the drawer again. "For whenever my butt lifts off the bed."

"Back in it." Jemma demanded, donning her blue gloves. Skye sighed inwardly, prolonging her excuse of being out of bed. "I just want to stretch my legs-"

"Now!" Jemma interrupted, her patience growing thin as she set an empty syringe on top of the drawer.

"Look! There's color in my cheeks." Skye patted her cheek as Jemma rounded the hospital bed. "Breathing without feeling like my whole body is on fire. I'm good."

"Good is not the appropriate word to describe your state." Jemma chuckled at her ignorance of her injuries. "You've been shot twice; had your stomach perforated and a breathing tube shoved down your throat. Better is the more accurate word."

"Again with the blood drive?" Skye complained which, only proved what she was thinking. "I'm not going to have anything left." Jemma chuckled again, then focused on the task at hand. "Not sure how I feel about Dr. Simmons. She's so strict. Ow! And pokey."

"Well, patient Skye is unruly and stubborn."

"And grateful. I hope you know that."

"I didn't do it alone."

"Still, I'm the most grateful-est-est patient alive."

"That's not even a word."

"Hey, is this a bad time?" Ward knocked on the cube as he walked in to see Jemma taking the needle of from Skye's arm.

"It is if you're here to bust me out." Skye smiled in an irritated manner, before putting on her best English accent. "The warden has extended house arrest."

"Awful accent." Jemma scoffed, then walked out of the room without another word.

Ward pulled up a chair as Skye covered her face with her hands and groaned. "I must look terrible. Simmons won't even bring me a mirror."

"I've seen worse."

"Wow, thanks." Skye deadpanned, rubbing her hands over her face as she looked back at the ceiling with a sigh.

"How long do you think she's going to keep you in here?"

"I don't know. You tell me."

"If I had to guess, you're not getting out of here until you've recovered."

"I figured as much." Skye pulled herself up slowly against the pillow. "I can't help but notice you didn't bring my computer with you. Did she confiscate that too?"

"Wow. Nothing gets past you, does it?"

"There's nothing left for me to do but twiddle my thumbs in this hospital room, or cube. Whatever this place is." Looking around the small cube, Skye settled on the closed door.

"I wouldn't."

"Hmm?"

"Whatever you're thinking, don't do it."

"You know, I'm getting a little tired." Letting him know he had overstayed his welcome, Skye turned onto her right side, her back towards him.

"Get some sleep." He mentioned, slipping out of the room. As soon as the door had closed, that's when the tears slipped down her cheeks and she stayed that way until she began to fall asleep again.

"If you give me anything else-" Skye muttered, her hand clamping down on the IV tube as Coulson walked into the room about an hour later.

"You'll what?" Coulson said softly, slightly amused as he sat down in the chair by her bed. When she didn't respond to his question, he patted her hand. "I haven't said it yet, but I'm glad you survived. You are a part of this family. I hope you always know that." With that he stood up and left the room, almost bumping into Simmons on the way out.

"Simmons."

"How is she?"

"At the moment? Sleeping."

"Good. Any word on Ward?"

"No. I was hoping Skye would be awake. She's our best bet to tracking him down."

"Are you sure that's the best idea? She just had major surgery-"

"I know she did. It's probably the safest thing she can do without leaving her bed." Coulson looked back over at Skye who hadn't moved at all, then looked back at Jemma hopefully. "All she needs is her computer."

"I will see if she's up for it."

"Great. Fitz in the lab?"

"I believe so-"

"Let him know we're all meeting back here in five minutes." Coulson stated, already heading back towards his office. "Could really use his help repairing the collar that was destroyed earlier today."

"I will let him know." Jemma sighed, taking one last look to make sure Skye was still sleeping before heading toward the bunks. When she had grabbed the computer from Skye's bed, she walked into the lab where Fitz was working at the far back counter.

"Gemma." Fitz greeted as he took off his safety glasses. "You okay? Did something happen to Skye?"

"At the moment she's sleeping, but not for long because Coulson needs all of us to help with this case."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Not exactly." Jemma paused, leaning against the counter. "But he does seem to think it will help keep Skye to stay in bed and recover. He wants us to meet him in the cube in a few minutes."

"I'll finish up then." Fitz placed his glasses back on the shelf, tidied up his workspace and they walked back towards the cube. When they arrived, Skye was slowly sitting up in bed and making small talk with Coulson, while Jemma and Fitz positioned themselves on either side of her.

"Good, you're here. I was just filling Skye in on the case."

"So Ward's what? Like a pod person?" Skye inquired curiously, her computer set up in front of her.

"No. According to Lady Sif, the men Lorelei controls don't forget who they are or what they know. She just becomes the embodiment of all their desires." Coulson presented, standing at the end of the bed.

"So once we find them, we can break her mojo or whatever. And get Ward back, right?"

"Yes, once the collar's back on Lorelei's neck, the enchantment ends." Coulson waved the broken gold collar in front of them, mostly gazing in Fitz's direction. "But that's the problem. The collar caught a shotgun blast back in the desert."

"You think you can fix it?" Coulson asked Fitz handing him the collar.

"Well...the metal, the weight-it's similar to the Berserker staff." Fitz lifted the collar like he was lifting a weight.

"But it presents its own set of countless unknown variables." Jemma pitched in a warning.

"Got a couple hours." Coulson raised his eyebrows, as if to say this collar was of vital importance to getting things back in control with Lorelei.

"What can I do?" Skye inquired, losing patience to why he needed her help in the first place. "And don't you dare say nothing, or tell me to sit down here and count ceiling tiles, while Ward is missing." Jemma and Coulson exchanged a look with each other as she stepped aside.

"Ward's got drop boxes and storage lockers all over the world. They're filled with currency, weapons, I.D's. He's gonna use aliases, cash-anything to keep Lorelei off the radar. You're the best radar we have. Find them."

"Sir, may I have a moment?" Jemma chased him down as she closed the door behind her. "It's about the GH-325."

"Have you found something?"

"No."

"I've hit a wall because of my limited resources. The drugs chemical properties are foreign to me, which is startling in its own right."

"We've been over this."

"So, I'm requesting once again to send a sample of Skye's blood to H.Q. for further study."

"That's not an option."

"Why?" Jemma asked impatiently as Coulson jerked back around to face her. "I don't need to explain the benefits of this drug. You've experienced them firsthand."

"No. That's an order."

"That's not a good enough reason!" Jemma raised her voice, closing the distance between them. "I have a duty to you, sir, as my commanding officer. But I also have a duty as a S.H.I.E.L.D scientist. To pursue this, to save lives! Given Ward's situation, we should-"

"Two men laid down their lives in a compound rigged with explosives to keep this drug hidden. We still don't know why. Until we do, until we speak with Fury and get some answers. That drug and its mysteries stay in house. Focus on the mission. Lorelei has Ward, and we have no idea where she's taking him." Coulson challenged, heading back down the hall.


End file.
